Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

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Monday, May 9, 2016

Luke 8:43-48

Luke 8:43-48

And a woman, while being in a flow of blood for twelve
years, after expending all of her livelihood for physicians, was not strong
enough to be healed from any of them.
After coming near from behind, she was touching the edge of his cloak
and immediately the flow of her blood stood still. And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched
me?” And while all were denying, Peter
and the ones with him said, “Master, the crowds constrain you and press in.” But Jesus said, “Who touched me? For I know a power having departed from me.” And after the woman saw that she did not stay
hidden, while trembling she came and fell down before Him and she declared in
the presence of all people the reason for which she touched Him as well as that
she was being immediately healed. And He
said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Depart in peace.”

Thoughts
for Today

First Thought:

I find the contrast between this woman and Jairus’s
situation striking. She is an unknown
woman in the midst of a selfish crowd, whereas Jairus was a known man that the
crowd let be humble before to Jesus. This
woman suffered from a blood condition for twelve years, which is the same
amount of time that Jairus’ daughter had been alive and well. The woman tries to hide in the crowd while
Jairus was not afforded that opportunity.
The woman couldn’t be any more different than Jairus. But she is still healed. Jesus is willing to be will all people in any
situation.

Why is it important to see that Jesus can be known by the
well-known and the anonymous? To which
situation do you feel the most similar?

Second Thought:

As we get to the end of this passage, we notice that Jesus
compliment the woman on her faith. Look
at what this woman does. She comes up
and touches Jesus from behind. She doesn’t
need to bother Jesus. She doesn’t need
Jesus to do anything. She simply knows
that Jesus’ power is strong enough to heal her.
She doesn’t even seem to want any sort of popularity. She doesn’t want to catch Jesus’ eye. She simply wants to ease her condition and
move along. That’s incredible faith!

Do you have faith that the mere presence of Jesus can
heal? How does faith like that play out
in your life?

On a side note, there is a dark side to this. The woman doesn’t want to be noticed. In a way, this is her own form of
selfishness. She is imposing her will on
Jesus. She wants her healing and then
wants to get on with her life. This
could be why she remains anonymous. She
is healed. She becomes a great teaching
point. But as far as we know, she doesn’t
become a disciple. Of course, she
might. We aren’t told either way. And who am I to judge?

Third Thought:

As we backtrack this story from the end
to its beginning, notice also that this woman had spent her whole livelihood on
physicians. I can’t even imagine her
frustration. She experienced 12 years of
no results. That’s over a decade of
disappointment. Yet, she still comes to
Jesus. This woman exemplifies not only
faith but hope. She doesn’t give
up. She sees an opportunity and is
willing to try.

Are you resilient like this woman? When disappointment comes into your life, how
long does it take you to move on and try again?